Kelly Financial Services LLC Buys New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,239 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.3%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $338.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $344.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.99. The stock has a market cap of $268.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported record DRAM equipment revenue, introduced new tools for advanced nodes and the board approved a 15% quarterly dividend increase — fundamentals that support mid/long-term demand tied to AI chip buildouts. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.7% After Record DRAM Tools, Dividend Hike And AI Supply-Chain Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and industry commentary point to rising demand for HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and advanced packaging as potential accelerants for AMAT’s revenue growth tied to AI and high-performance compute. Can HBM and Packaging Demand Accelerate AMAT’s Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Improving wafer‑fab spending visibility and ongoing AI-driven chip demand have supported recent rallies and underpin medium-term order momentum. Applied Materials (AMAT) Surged on Improving Wafer-Fab Spending Visibility
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. industrial policy and large-scale supply-chain initiatives for semiconductors add another tailwind for equipment suppliers like AMAT. US Semiconductor Push Adds New Thread To Applied Materials Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative valuation and competitor positioning are under active debate (ASML vs AMAT); analysts still rate both highly but highlight different risk/reward profiles tied to technology moat and pricing. ASML vs. Applied Materials (AMAT): Which Chip Equipment Stock Offers Better Value in 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/ETF flow commentary notes that tech earnings are improving but some ETFs (and share prices) lag underlying fundamentals — a signal that rotation or passive flows could mute upside. As Tech Earnings Grow, This ETF Still Hasn’t Caught Up (AMAT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group moved AMAT to a “hold” — a mild change in street positioning that may temper near-term momentum but is not a strong negative read. Zacks: Erste Group Bank AG Upgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-wide weakness hit multiple chip-equipment and chipmaker names today, and AMAT’s share decline appears driven largely by that broad pullback and profit-taking after recent gains. Teradyne, Applied Materials, Intel, KLA Corporation, and Semtech shares plummet, what you need to know
• Negative Sentiment: Despite an earnings beat, AMAT’s revenue was slightly down year-over-year in the last quarter and the shares carry a premium multiple that can amplify downside during market rotations. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Applied Materials (AMAT): Should You Buy?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.